<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//ORA//DTD CD HTML 3.2//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>[Preface] Using This Book</TITLE>
<META NAME="author" CONTENT="Mark Grand">
<META NAME="date" CONTENT="Thu Jul 31 13:04:40 1997">
<META NAME="form" CONTENT="html">
<META NAME="metadata" CONTENT="dublincore.0.1">
<META NAME="objecttype" CONTENT="book part">
<META NAME="otheragent" CONTENT="gmat dbtohtml">
<META NAME="publisher" CONTENT="O'Reilly &amp; Associates, Inc.">
<META NAME="source" CONTENT="SGML">
<META NAME="subject" CONTENT="java">
<META NAME="title" CONTENT="Java Language Reference">
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Script-Type" CONTENT="text/javascript">
</HEAD>
<body vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" link="#0000ee">

<DIV CLASS=htmlnav>
<H1><a href='index.htm'><IMG SRC="gifs/smbanner.gif"
     ALT="Java Language Reference" border=0></a></H1>
<table width=515 border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0>
<tr>
<td width=172 align=left valign=top><A HREF="ch00_01.htm"><IMG SRC="gifs/txtpreva.gif" ALT="Previous" border=0></A></td>
<td width=171 align=center valign=top><B><FONT FACE="ARIEL,HELVETICA,HELV,SANSERIF" SIZE="-1">Preface</FONT></B></TD>
<td width=172 align=right valign=top><A HREF="ch00_03.htm"><IMG SRC="gifs/txtnexta.gif" ALT="Next" border=0></A></td>
</tr>
</table>

&nbsp;
<hr align=left width=515>
</DIV>
<DIV CLASS=sect1>
<h2 CLASS=sect1><A CLASS="TITLE" NAME="JLR2-PREFACE-SECT-2">Using This Book</A></h2>

<P CLASS=para>
This book is not meant to be read from cover to cover. Instead, it is
meant to be used as a reference manual for the syntax and lexical
structure of the Java language. The language is presented in a
bottom-up order. The text starts with lexical analysis and works up
through data types, expressions, declarations, statements, and
overall program structure. The book also covers threads and exception
handling in detail. The final chapter presents reference information
on the classes in the <tt CLASS=literal>java.lang</tt> package, since
these classes are essential to the Java language.

<P CLASS=para>
When you need to know the details about a particular Java construct,
you can find the appropriate section and read everything you need to
know about that aspect of the language. For every construct, there is
a railroad diagram that presents its syntax in an easy-to-understand,
visual fashion. The text also provides many examples to
illustrate subtle features of the language.

<P CLASS=para>
The book includes numerous cross-references to help you move quickly
between related topics. A cross-reference shown in italic type
specifies the location of a railroad diagram related to the
current diagram, while cross-references in plain text specify other
sections of the book.

<P CLASS=para>
The <i CLASS=citetitle>Java Language Reference</i> is broken down into
ten chapters and an appendix as follows:

<P>
<DL CLASS=variablelist>
<DT CLASS=varlistentry>Chapter 1<br>
<DD>

<P CLASS=para>
<I CLASS=emphasis>Introduction</I> provides a quick introduction to the Java programming
language by way of a "Hello World" example. The chapter also
describes the notational conventions of the railroad diagrams that are
used to define the syntax and lexical structure of the Java language.

<p>
<DT CLASS=varlistentry>Chapter 2<br>
<DD>

<P CLASS=para>
<I CLASS=emphasis>Lexical Analysis</I> describes the process by which the Java compiler
reads the characters in a Java source file and looks for sequences
that form identifiers, keywords, literals, and operators.

<p>
<DT CLASS=varlistentry>Chapter 3<br>
<DD>

<P CLASS=para>
<I CLASS=emphasis>Data Types</I> discusses all of the different data types provided by the
Java language.

<p>
<DT CLASS=varlistentry>Chapter 4<br>
<DD>

<P CLASS=para>
<I CLASS=emphasis>Expressions</I> presents the syntax of Java expressions and describes the
function of each operator in the language.

<p>
<DT CLASS=varlistentry>Chapter 5<br>
<DD>

<P CLASS=para>
<I CLASS=emphasis>Declarations</I> covers the syntax of class, interface, method, and
variable declarations. The chapter also provides a detailed look at
the object-oriented aspects of the Java language.

<p>
<DT CLASS=varlistentry>Chapter 6<br>
<DD>

<P CLASS=para>
<I CLASS=emphasis>Statements and Control Structures</I> describes each of the available
statements in Java.

<p>
<DT CLASS=varlistentry>Chapter 7<br>
<DD>

<P CLASS=para>
<I CLASS=emphasis>Program Structure</I> presents the syntax of Java compilation units and
also covers the two common types of Java programs: stand-alone
applications and applets.

<p>
<DT CLASS=varlistentry>Chapter 8<br>
<DD>

<P CLASS=para>
<I CLASS=emphasis>Threads</I> discusses how to create and control threads in a Java program,
as well as how to synchronize multiple threads.

<p>
<DT CLASS=varlistentry>Chapter 9<br>
<DD>

<P CLASS=para>
<I CLASS=emphasis>Exception Handling</I> describes how to generate, declare, and handle
exceptions in Java. The chapter also covers the hierarchy of
exception classes provided in the <tt CLASS=literal>java.lang</tt> package.

<p>
<DT CLASS=varlistentry>Chapter 10<br>
<DD>

<P CLASS=para>
<I CLASS=emphasis>The java.lang Package</I> provides reference information on each of the
classes in <tt CLASS=literal>java.lang</tt>.

<p>
<DT CLASS=varlistentry>Appendix<br>
<DD>

<P CLASS=para>
<I CLASS=emphasis>The Unicode 2.0 Character Set</I> lists the character sets that comprise the
Unicode standard.</DL>
</DIV>


<DIV CLASS=htmlnav>

<P>
<HR align=left width=515>
<table width=515 border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0>
<tr>
<td width=172 align=left valign=top><A HREF="ch00_01.htm"><IMG SRC="gifs/txtpreva.gif" ALT="Previous" border=0></A></td>
<td width=171 align=center valign=top><a href="index.htm"><img src='gifs/txthome.gif' border=0 alt='Home'></a></td>
<td width=172 align=right valign=top><A HREF="ch00_03.htm"><IMG SRC="gifs/txtnexta.gif" ALT="Next" border=0></A></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width=172 align=left valign=top>Audience</td>
<td width=171 align=center valign=top><a href="index/idx_0.htm"><img src='gifs/index.gif' alt='Book Index' border=0></a></td>
<td width=172 align=right valign=top>Related Books</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr align=left width=515>

<IMG SRC="gifs/smnavbar.gif" USEMAP="#map" BORDER=0> 
<MAP NAME="map"> 
<AREA SHAPE=RECT COORDS="0,0,108,15" HREF="../javanut/index.htm"
alt="Java in a Nutshell"> 
<AREA SHAPE=RECT COORDS="109,0,200,15" HREF="../langref/index.htm" 
alt="Java Language Reference"> 
<AREA SHAPE=RECT COORDS="203,0,290,15" HREF="../awt/index.htm" 
alt="Java AWT"> 
<AREA SHAPE=RECT COORDS="291,0,419,15" HREF="../fclass/index.htm" 
alt="Java Fundamental Classes"> 
<AREA SHAPE=RECT COORDS="421,0,514,15" HREF="../exp/index.htm" 
alt="Exploring Java"> 
</MAP>
</DIV>

</BODY>
</HTML>
